Symphony Hall and Huntington Avenue Landmark

Why is it significant?

Conclude your cultural walk through Boston's Victorian and cultural quarters before the noble brick-and-limestone facade of Symphony Hall, situated at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Huntington Avenue.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Conclude your cultural walk through Boston's Victorian and cultural quarters before the noble brick-and-limestone facade of Symphony Hall, situated at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Huntington Avenue. Opened on October 15, 1900, under the baton of conductor Wilhelm Gericke, this historic concert hall is the permanent home of the world-renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra, founded in 1881 by philanthropist Henry Lee Higginson.

Symphony Hall holds a revered place in scientific and cultural history as the very first concert hall in the world built using scientifically calculated principles of architectural acoustics. Harvard University physics professor Wallace Clement Sabine applied his pioneering mathematical formulas of sound reverberation to design the hall's precise shoebox geometry, producing acoustic perfection that has never been surpassed.

Step inside the magnificent auditorium to admire the gilded neoclassical statues of Greek and Roman mythological figures lining the upper gallery walls, cast from authentic museum originals in Rome and Athens. The hall's shoebox design, shallow balconies, and sound-absorbing plaster coffered ceiling produce a warm, reverberant resonance that conductors and soloists universally revere. Above the stage rises the majestic 1900 Hutchings-Votey pipe organ, completely rebuilt in 1949 by G. Donald Harrison of the Aeolian-Skinner company and affectionately known as the "Voice of Symphony Hall." Across the street, the New England Conservatory of Music and Jordan Hall anchor Boston's Avenue of the Arts, filling the neighborhood with the sweet strains of violin and woodwind rehearsals.

Gazing upon the stately classical exterior of Symphony Hall as concert-goers in evening dress gather under the glowing marquis, you feel the magnificent culmination of Boston's cultural golden age. Here, scientific brilliance and musical sublime unite in timeless acoustic splendor.

Linger in the historic cafes of Huntington Avenue or attend an evening performance of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.